"I didn't realize how much you could do with Rhino," Fox said. "I didn't realize how easy it was."

The project is not only "cool," Fox said, but it could turn a profit if she decides to sell the stickers to Yamhill-Carlton students. It's one of many doors that were opened to her and her peers during a week-long visit from Sherwood School District's traveling fabrication laboratory last week.

The "Bowmen Fab Lab" is an RV and mobile fabrication laboratory that includes a vinyl cutter, 3D printer, laser cutter and other tools and materials that Sherwood High School Digital Design and Fabrication Instructor, John Niebergall, uses to share his school's cutting-edge program with students across the state.

The technology was new to Gaston teacher Wade Sims' beginning woods class last Monday, but students quickly built skills that they could apply to a design or manufacturing job.

"It looks kind of simple and not a big deal, but it's what the industry uses," Niebergall said.

Even for schools with longstanding woods and engineering programs, keeping up-to-date with changing technology and software can be expensive — and challenging for teachers who may not be familiar with the latest equipment.

Niebergall has visited about a dozen schools so far, traveling as far as the Hermiston and Klamath County school districts and spending about a week at each. When he travels far from home, he spends his nights in the RV — an investment that was funded through the grant.

Of the 24 Oregon school districts that received CTE Revitalization Grants this biennium, Sherwood's Fab Lab project is the only one that reaches out to other districts across the state.

Niebergall not only shows students how to use the technology, he provides teachers with staff development to continue pushing student innovation after he leaves.

"I'm trying to share," said Niebergall, who has taught hands-on woods and engineering classes at Sherwood High School for the past 31 years. "I'm at the end of my career, kind of. The pendulum has swung back in terms of hands-on learning."

Schools can sign up for a visit from the Bowmen Fab Lab by visiting Niebergall's website.

CTE programs are drawing interest at state as well as national levels, said Tom Thomson, an education specialist with the Oregon Department of Education.

"From the industry perspective, it's a pipeline issue," he said, as many technical industries are realizing the need for young workers as members of the baby boomer generation retire.

More than 177,000 Oregonians are employed through the manufacturing industry, according to a report by the state Employment Department. Workers in these fields averaged $16,027 in wages in the second quarter of 2014.

He said students in CTE programs are more likely to come to class, perform well academically and graduate, since they tend to see a direct application for the skills they're learning.

As Sims pointed out, students who are interested in these hands-on jobs can often start working within a couple years of high school graduation — eliminating the hefty tuition debt that many college graduates face.

"Those kids who spend two to three years doing this in high school, they're ready to do this in June," Sims said. "When they graduate, they're ready to work."

At each school he visits, Niebergall leaves behind a $2,000 vinyl cutter and about $300 of supplies so students can make stickers to sell — ideally to raise more money toward technology and supplies. In these classes that require pricey equipment and software, sustainability — often through entrepreneurship — is key.

In Gaston, Sims hopes to use the startup supplies to make and sell stickers and window clings. If they earn enough money, he said, he hopes to purchase a $1,000 copy of the Rhinoceros 3D design software so students can continue using the technology after their free trial expires.

Charity Hall, a freshman in Sims' class, said she could see herself using what she learned last week to create logos or other designs in the future — even outside of school.

"You can go a long way with technology," she said. "Everything has really changed over time."

As for the mobile Fab Lab, Niebergall — who is still employed through the Sherwood School District — says he's looking for ways to keep the project going through community and business partnerships. Otherwise, next year he'll go back to his regular teaching role at Sherwood High School, where he still checks in with students and teachers.

Sims is planning to apply for a CTE Revitalization grant himself. He hopes to eventually build onto the school to add a new shop, clean room, fabrication lab, metal shop and classroom, along with a health occupations space, which also falls under the CTE umbrella.

He's also expecting a new 3D printer to arrive this week for his students to further apply their Rhinoceros design skills.

Sims said he and Niebergall used to daydream about what they could do with their classes if only they had the funding and technology.

"It was a pipe dream," Sims said. "We really thought, no way any of this is ever going to happen."